(Reuters) -Many European countries have put asylum applications from Syrians on hold after rebels seized the Syrian capital and President Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia following 13 years of civil war.
Here is what European countries have done:
AUSTRIA
Austria’s caretaker government on Monday ordered a stop to the processing of asylum applications by Syrians. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner told the ministry to prepare a programme of “orderly repatriation and deportation to Syria”.
BELGIUM
The Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons said on Monday it would temporarily suspend processing cases until it has sufficient information to assess the security situation in Syria and the risk of persecution.
BRITAIN
Britain has paused decisions on Syrian asylum claims to assess the situation, a government spokesperson said on Monday.
CROATIA
Croatia said on Tuesday it had temporarily suspended asylum applications from Syrians.
CZECH REPUBLIC
The Czech Republic has halted decision-making on asylum applications given the changes in the situation in Syria, the Interior Ministry said on Monday. There were 38 Syrian applicants for protection and 37 for an extension.
DENMARK
Denmark paused processing applications on Monday and said Syrians whose applications had already been rejected, and who had been given a deadline to leave, would be allowed to remain longer due to the current uncertainty.
FINLAND
The Finnish migration authority, which currently has 350 asylum applications from Syrian nationals, said on Tuesday it had paused handling them.
FRANCE
The interior ministry said on Monday it was working on a suspension of current asylum cases from Syria, with a decision expected shortly.
GERMANY
The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees on Monday put all applications from Syrian nationals on hold until further notice.
GREECE
Greece has paused asylum applications of about 9,000 Syrians, with a meeting planned for Friday to finalise the move, a senior government official told Reuters on Monday.
IRELAND
The Irish Minister for Justice told Reuters on Wednesday that the International Protection Office would temporarily pause the issuing of final determinations while the situation in Syria was kept under review.
ITALY
Italy’s government said on Monday it would pause asylum applications from Syria.
NETHERLANDS
The Netherlands will withhold for six months decisions on applications it received less than 21 months ago, Asylum and Migration Minister Marjolein Faber said in a note on Monday.
NORWAY
Norwegian immigration authorities said on Monday that Syrians’ asylum applications would neither be denied nor approved for now.
POLAND
The Polish Office for Foreigners will not issue decisions on Syrian citizens’ applications for international protection until the situation in Syria is clarified, Deputy Interior Minister Maciej Duszcyk said on Tuesday in a post on X.
SWEDEN
The Swedish migration agency said on Monday it had paused decisions on Syrian asylum applications, saying it was not possible to assess the need for protection.
SWITZERLAND
The Swiss government said on Tuesday it had temporarily suspended asylum procedures for Syrians until it could better assess the situation in the country.
(Reporting by Philippe Leroy Beaulieu and Alessandro Parodi in Gdansk, additional reporting by Anna Ringstrom in Stockholm, Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk in Warsaw, Jan Lopatka in Prague, Conor Humphries in Dublin; Editing by Milla Nissi, Ed Osmond and Bernadette Baum)
